James M. Trotter

“ My mind goes a few years into the future. I attend a concert given by students or by graduates of Fisk University; I listen to music of the most classical order rendered in a manner that would satisfy the most exacting critic of the art; and at the same time I am pleasantly reminded of the famous "Jubilee Singers" of days in the past by the peculiarly thrilling sweetness of voice, and the charming simplicity and soulfulness of manner, that distinguish and add to the beauty of the rendering. ”

“ Who ever heard of an idiot possessing such power of memory, such fineness of musical sensibility, such order, such method, as he displays? Let us call him the embodiment, the soul, of music, and there rest our investigations; for all else is futility, all else is vain speculation.
Thus have I alluded in a general way to the characteristics of this most wonderful pianist. A more particular but brief sketch of his life from infancy to manhood cannot but be interesting, not only to the student in music, but to all classes of readers. ”

“ I believe I have already intimated that the very high esteem in which Miss Brown is held arises not alone from her possession of charming lyric qualities, but also from her obliging disposition and engaging manners. She has ever been the true artist; earnestly devoted to the fullest development of her own musical powers, but not envying those of others; loving music intensely, as something sacred, and always anxious to aid in extending its benign influence. ”

“ FREDERICK ELLIOT LEWIS.
It is not my purpose, however, to present him here as a musical "prodigy," nor as one of those rather abnormal, supernatural beings who astound their hearers by playing upon an instrument almost at sight, without previous study, or without observable method; playing, as it would seem, from a kind of instinct. I present him rather as he is,—an intelligent, a cultured gentleman; an artist so great in natural gifts as to often excite astonishment certainly; but yet one with intelligent method, and fully able to understand and explain all he so skilfully performs. ”

“ We can learn all that great genius can reduce to rule and put in tangible form: he knows more than that. I do not even know what it is; but I see and feel it is something beyond my comprehension. All that can be done for him will be to let him hear fine playing: he will work it all out by himself after a while; but he will do it sooner by hearing fine music.'
"It has been stated that Tom was born blind. In his infancy and for years the pupils of his eyes were as white and apparently as inanimate as those of a dead fish. ”

“ In fact, it was proved that their power as singers held sway wherever they sang; wherever was found a soul in unison with melodious sound, a heart capable of human emotion. It was not so much the words of their songs—these, it is true, were not without merit in a religious sense—as the strangely pathetic and delightful melody of their music, and the freshness and heartiness of the rendering, that gave them their greatest charm. ”

“ How much, how very much, has been lost to art in this country through that fell spirit which for more than two hundred years has animated the majority of its people against a struggling and an unoffending minority,—a spirit which ever sought to crush out talent, to quench the sacred fire of genius, and to crowd down all noble aspirations, whenever these evidences of a high manhood were shown by those whose skins were black! ”

“ Gathered as was this immense concourse of people to advance the cause of human freedom, and entertaining and asserting, as they did, a belief of man's equality, we may well imagine the measure of their delight when in witnessing the display of genius by the wonderful pianist, and listening to the sweet strains of classical harmony formed by the tuneful voices and skilfully-played instruments of this troupe of colored artists, they found their claims for the race so fully sustained. ”

“ Nor need I dwell at great length upon the delights and benefits afforded the members of families whose leisure is given to the study and practice of an art so ennobling as music. How charming are those homes in which it is, in its purest style, cultivated! what refinement reigns therein! and what a gentle yet potent aid it is in parental government! The allurements to outside and often harmful pleasures lose their power over the children of that household in which music's engaging, magic influence holds delightful, elevating sway. ”

“ VIII. JUSTIN HOLLAND, THE EMINENT AUTHOR AND ARRANGER, AND PERFORMER ON THE GUITAR, FLUTE, AND PIANO-FORTE. No life can be called a truly great one that has not been a truly good one: a very simple saying, and one which, however trite, yet requires frequent repeating, since its importance is but too seldom considered. And the noble fame that sooner or later surely attaches to the author of such a life belongs chiefly, but not entirely, to him; it being in part, in a certain sense, the property of all who would follow in his footsteps, becoming for them an inspiring example ”

“ Remembering her own hard contests as she ascended the hill of fame, Miss Greenfield ever held out a helping hand to all whom she found struggling to obtain a knowledge of the noble art of music. Possessing, on account of her great vocal abilities, the high esteem of the general public, from a rare amiability of disposition enjoying the warm love of many friends in those private circles where she was always an ornament and a blessing, this wonderfully gifted lady at the age of sixty-eight years died, deeply mourned by all. ”

“ White was not a showman. He has ever been too purely, too entirely devoted to his chosen art to admit of his using the means generally employed by the mere money-seeking musician,—means which seem so out of keeping with those finer aspirations which a contemplation and practice of the noble art of music are expected to promote, and the use of which, detracting as it does from his dignity, lessens the respect, the admiration, which people of culture would fain feel for the gifted performer.
A few months ago our artist sailed for Paris, the scene of his earliest triumphs. ”

“ Often have I, when passing in the evening a dwelling from which floated out upon the air the notes of tuneful voices, accompanied by the piano-forte or some other instrument, paused to listen, lingering long, the ear so ravished by the sweet sounds as to cause me to stand almost spell-bound, and to remain under music's magic influence even after its charming sounds had died away. ”

“ It is true that the mighty genius of Mozart and Beethoven soared far above common musical minds. With a love for the noble art of music almost sacred in its intensity, these great composers penetrated far, far into its depths, finding their greatest enjoyment in so doing. ”

“ Eichberg's accomplished pupil, Persis Bell, could fail to feel that the violin seemed peculiarly fitted to the female constitution and capacity? How graceful the attitude and motions of a young woman skilfully handling the bow! Her finer sense of touch, her delicate tact, her instinctive feeling-out of the pure truth of tone, give woman a great advantage in this art; and the several examples we have had from time to time in the concerts of the Boston Conservatory of Music have shown that this was no mere dream. ”

“ Slightly below the medium size, of graceful form, with regular, expressive features, and thoughtful cast of countenance; always neat in appearance; of gentlemanly, Christian deportment; genial in manners,—so amiable, as to be almost without an enemy; of very industrious habits; fully impressed with the beauty, the grandeur, and the great usefulness, of the divine art, as a potent means, when properly employed, for elevating the mind, adding to innocent enjoyment, and as an aid to polite culture; and with a soul absorbed in music,—all this can be truly said of Frederick E. Lewis. ”

“ But such almost marvellous power as this artist, this master, possessed, could not long remain unrevealed. People of musical culture were ere long electrified by the sweet tones of wondrous melody which with perfect ease he drew from his violin. That terrible barrier so often, even at the present time, erected in this country, that shameful obstruction, color prejudice, could not long withstand the attacks of this quiet yet courageous musical genius ”

“ At such times he will commence with his favorite, the piano, and go through successively a performance upon each one of his many instruments, giving his delighted listener a taste, so to speak, of the melodious sweets of each. He delights not only to play, but is also quite fond of conversing on general music; with which subject he is very familiar, and is ever interesting and instructive in discoursing upon the advantages and pleasures to be enjoyed by its study. Indeed, at such times one is in doubt whether to admire him most as a performer or as a theorist ”

“ The great charm of these singers will, however, remain in the reproduction of the melodies of an era that has gone, happily never to return,—melodies which were the natural expression of the fancies and sympathies of an emotional race, and which no musical culture or refinement can ever render with the sweet simplicity and charming grace that flow from the lips of those to whom they are the native music. ”

“ But the chief influence there—the crowning glory of the groves—is the songs, the charming music of the birds, as they warble from tree to tree, untrammelled by the forms of art, their sweetest melodies. How often do their lightsome, inspiriting carollings ring out upon the morning air, persuasively calling us from our couches to listen in delight to Nature's minstrelsy! "After man," says a writer, "the birds occupy the highest rank in Nature's concerts. They make the woods, the gardens, and the fields resound with their merry warbles. ”

“ Her sway is over all, and is absolute; the natural music of her voice merely serving as sufficient charm for those not highly cultured, while the embellishments of art which she so intelligently uses in her performance add to the pleasure of, as they satisfy, the æsthetic conceptions, the love of full, harmonious development, held by persons of the most critical tastes. ”

“ In singing the former she exhibits a most winning naïveté, enters wholly into the spirit of the song, and with a full, pleasing voice, impresses deeply its melody and meaning upon the hearts of her hearers, thus exhibiting the highest kind of lyric eloquence. As a singer, then, of ballads alone, she would take high rank in the musical profession, even if she did not excel—it has been seen that she does—in the rendering of songs of a more technical character. ”

“ But men of such transcendent powers, men within whose souls the fire of musical genius so brightly burns, cannot stop; for the essence, the very soul, of music, is the predominating, the all-absorbing quality that forms their natures; and therefore it is that their ever new, their ever charmingly beautiful revelations in divine harmony, cease only when the sacred flame is extinguished by death itself. Thus, then, it was with the subject of our sketch, who was to gain new laurels in still another country. ”

“ In these latter respects the present far exceeds the past. [8] In fact, the study of the art of music has begun to be considered a necessity; and ability in its comprehension and performance is now far from being considered as merely an ornamental accomplishment. All this springs from the very nature of this divine art, the mission, so to speak, of which is, to constantly open new fountains of pleasure in the human heart; to cheer, to soothe, and to bless mankind throughout all time. ”

“ Many men of brilliant musical genius and of remarkable industry and perseverance were born; and, with new conceptions of the scope and capabilities of the divine art, they penetrated its innermost depths, and brought to the ears of the music-loving world new and enrapturing forms of harmony. Among these great masters, leaving out those already mentioned, were Handel, Henry Purcell, Bach, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Spontini. ”

“ We have never been called upon to record a more brilliant and instantaneous success than has thus far attended this talented young aspirant to musical honors. From obscurity she has risen to popularity. She has not been through the regular routine of advancement; but, as it were in a moment, endowed by nature with the wonderful power of song, she delighted the circle in which she moved, and is now enchanting the public. ”

“ XIV. NELLIE E. BROWN, THE FAVORITE NEW-HAMPSHIRE VOCALIST. ALL musical tones please the ear, and affect to a greater or lesser degree the finer senses; for as beautifully and expressively sings Cowper, explaining this sensibility,—
The musical instrument, of itself lying cold and inanimate, may become, when touched by the hand of genius, seemingly a thing of life as the performer evolves from its board tones of melody so thrillingly sweet, so soulful, as to awaken in the listener's breast the holiest emotions. ”